Mattea’s many moods on display> Veteran country singer gives enjoyable concert

An Orono audience got to enjoy the many moods of Kathy Mattea Thursday night, as the country singer took the sellout crowd on a 1 1/2-hour tour of her 15-year career.

Mattea, 38, let the people in attendance at the Maine Center for the Arts know right away that this wasn’t going to be just another hit parade. When someone hollered out a request for a recent single, she said, “Not yet. I have to take you up to the heights and down to the depths and wring every ounce of emotion I can out of you.”

Backed by the four-member Prozac Mountain Boys and two vocalists, Mattea, garbed in a matching black patterned jacket and pants and a black turtleneck, was a charming presence as star attraction and mistress of ceremonies.

Either she was jamming with guitarist Bill Cooley or was doing an impromptu, obviously unchoreographed dance with her backup vocalists. After signing an autograph, she graciously accepted a coupon from a fan for a free bass-boat ride on a New Hampshire lake.

She worked hard to find some Maine angle for the concert. She told a somewhat offcolor tale about the friend of a friend who got stopped by a state trooper. She also performed “Summer of My Dreams” by Maine native Dave Mallett. Throughout the evening, she tried, in vain, to perfect her Down East accent, although she proved much more adept at other accents.

But, mostly, she sang what the people had come to hear. She did the hits, including “Love at the Five and Dime,” “Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses,” “Come From the Heart” and “Walking Away a Winner.”

Mattea also explored her critically acclaimed new album, playing the title song, “Patiently Waiting” and the Cheryl Wheeler composition “Further and Further Away.”

The evening really picked up steam toward the end. Her poignant ballad “Where’ve You Been” earned her sustained applause, followed by a partial standing ovation. The spiritual “Shut De Do” got the audience clapping, then “455 Rocket” got them rocking. After a spirited rendition of “Walking Away a Winner,” Mattea and group left the stage.

The crowd’s reception brought back Mattea and four of her band for the a capella spiritual “When My God Called This Morning.” Then they were gone again.

Opening for Mattea was Arista recording artist Radney Foster. In his half-hour set, Foster played his hits “Just Call Me Lonesome,” “Nobody Wins” and “Easier Said Than Done” and his song “Fine Line,” which had been recorded by Hootie and the Blowfish. Foster generally received polite applause from the audience.